Millions of people donate their blood each year. Before the blood from the donor can be transfused into a recipient, the blood must be typed. Typically, the blood is tested for ABO and RH1 (Rhesus D antigen) blood groups and is screened for alloimmune antibodies of clinical significance. To determine the blood group, red blood cells (RBCs or erythrocytes) are reacted separately with anti-A, anti-B, anti-AB and anti-D antibodies. This type of test is known as antigen typing (e.g., grouping and phenotyping). The serum/plasma from the same blood sample is also individually tested with Type A and Type B reagent RBCs and at least two different Type O reagent cells representing most of the antigens of clinical significance. The type of test with Type A and Type B reagent RBCs is known as reverse typing and the type of test with Type O reagent cells is known as antibody screening.
More than 150 million tests are performed annually in blood centers to determine the blood groups as well as antibodies of clinical significance in the serum/plasma. Generally, transfusion of blood is required in emergency situations for which it is desirable to determine the compatibility between the donor and recipient in as short a time as possible. An automated high-throughput system and method of blood typing is therefore desired that can test multiple samples at once and that can provide quick test results. Additionally, needing less blood sample from the patient is also desirable.